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At a moment when hate violence is spreading and hate groups are planning rallies in cities across the U.S., local human rights and human relations commissioners and directors were gathering intelligence and discussing best practices for response at the 2017 annual meeting in Seattle of IAOHRA, The International Association of Official Human Rights Agencies.

At the beginning of the Jewish New Year, it is traditional to sound the shofar. Like the bugle, this instrument blasts a call to the slumbering to awaken and reaffirm the commitments that give our lives and communities purpose and life. Regardless of your spiritual beliefs, this Rosh Hoshanah sermon from Rabbi Sydney Mintz, of Congregation Emanu-El San Francisco, who also sits on NIOT’s Advisory Board, calls us to action in this moment.

Over the last year, schools throughout the US have experienced a frightening increase in bullying and acts of hate. Each year, schools across the US participate in bullying prevention activities during the month of October. This year, when hate is on the rise, our greatest challenge is to acknowledge the problem of hate and bullying and move toward welcoming, identity safe, and inclusive schools.

Charlottesville has been grappling with the history of slavery, segregation, symbols of the confederacy and racism in their community for hundreds of years. These issues came to a head most recently when the city considered removing a statue of Confederate General Robert E. Lee. To protest the removal of the monument, a coalition of white supremacists including neo-Nazis, members of the Alt-Right and the KKK descended on the town in May and July, and most recently, with deadly force on August 12.